@lumbre.sg Seafood Wet Fideua 'Arroz Caldoso' with Calamari and Smoked Eel ($48++) sounds exotic, but despite it being Spanish, it was highly reminiscent of a local Singaporean favourite. Arroz caldoso literally means ‘broth-y rice’, and it’s the Spanish equivalent of a risotto. But what the heck is fideua? A quick google search revealed that it’s paella, but with thin pasta noodles instead of paella rice.⠀
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Due to the noodles being cooked in a stunningly sapid seafood broth, each and every single soft noodle is utterly laden with umami. The little bits of calamari mixed in provide an irresistible chewy contrast to the soft noodles, and the flavours are sublime. Remember when I said that Lumbre’s fideua was a dead ringer for a Singaporean favourite? That’s right, this was essentially Spanish fried seafood bee hoon. And it’s essentially excellent too, with charred crispy bits at the bottom of the cast iron pot begging to be scraped off the pot and into your eager maw once you’ve devoured your way through this pot of piquant noodles.
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The slab of unagi-sorry, smoked eel on top was delicate in texture, but incredibly bold in flavours. Smoky, salty, seared spectacularly and simply stellar, the moist eel was well deserving of its place atop the redolent fideua. However, forty eight bucks before tax & service charge is a shockingly steep ask considering that it’s not a notably large portion. I tried it and relished every last morsel of it, but I’m not entirely sure if I’d order it again.